Deforestation In Madagascar

Map of Madagascar Source:

What led to Deforestation ?  Colonial ruling  Traditional practices  Weak Government

Thesis  The ongoing environmental issue of deforestation could be prevented by educating sustainable use of resources through better agricultural practices, stronger government policies and efforts to reduce the country’s poverty

Slash and Burn  Why do farmers practice slash and burn ?  How dose this unsustainable practice play’s a role in deforestation ?  Slash and burn agriculture is also affecting ecosystems  Source:

How has the government played a role ?  Unconstitutional change of government in 2009 led to huge economical loss in conversational founding and tourism from international countries.  Political conflicts increases illegal logging  Did the government itself encourage illegal logging? How so?  Source:

One of the world’s poorest countries !  How do most of the people survive on a daily basis?  92% of its entire population living in poverty (The World Bank, 2013).  How is the population’s dependence on the land causing an issues ? Source: ratio-at-dollar2-a-day-ppp-percent-of-population-wb-data.htmlhttp:// ratio-at-dollar2-a-day-ppp-percent-of-population-wb-data.html

Possible Solutions  Changing the way the government approaches the deforestation issue  Enforced conservation programs by the government that educates farmers on sustainable agriculture  Promote stronger property rights

References  Clark, M. (2012).Deforestation in Madagascar: Consequences of Population Growth and Unsustainable Agricultural Processes. Global Majority E-Journal, 3 (1), Retrieved from  Jarosz, L. (1993). Defining and explaining tropical deforestation: shifting cultivation and population growth in colonial Madagascar ( ). Economic Geography, 69, 4, DOI: / /  Kull, C. A. (2002). Madagascar aflame: Landscape burning as peasant protest, resistance, or a resource management tool? Political Geography, 21 (7), DOI: /S (02) /S (02)  Klein, J. (2002). Deforestation in the Madagascar Highlands – Established “truth” and scientific uncertainty. GeoJournal, 56 (3), DOI: /a: /a:  Randriamalala, H., & Zhou, L. (2010). Rosewood of Madagascar: Between democracy and conservation. Madagascar Conservation & Development, 5 (1),  Rahman, S. A., Rahman, M. F., & Sunderland, T. (2012). Causes and consequences of shifting cultivation and its alternative in the hill tracts of eastern Bangladesh. Agroforestry Systems. DOI: /s /s  The World Bank, (2013). Madagascar: Measuring the Impact of the Political Crisis. Rtrieved from: crisis crisis

Questions for discussion  Do you know of any other country or countries experiencing deforestation in extreme levels a Madagascar?  What might be a suggestion to the government or people of Madagascar?  Of the two, which do you believe had a grater effect on the continent’s deforestation problems? And why? A. Government policies B. Traditional practices  Which of the two problems above do you think is more difficult to address and why?